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Summary
The Beaver Islander was a ferry operated by the Beaver Island Boat Company on the Charlevoix–Saint James route. The March 1962 Beaver Beacon reports that Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corporation won the $187,000 bid, began construction, and planned the vessel’s June 23 start. Its comparison table gives 95 feet length, 27 feet beam, 100 gross tons, 150 passengers, and 12 large cars. A contemporary August 1962 Beaver Beacon report says the new ferry appeared in Saint James Harbor on 27 July, began the run, and was christened there on 5 August. The same report names Lawrence McDonough as captain. A Clarke Historical Library subject-card chronology gives the ferry’s length as 96.5 feet and its capacity as 150 passengers and 12 cars.
A January 1969 Charlevoix Courier report records the Beaver Islander making its 299th and final 1968-season trip on December 27 through a severe snowstorm. It carried winter food, building materials, a snowmobile, deer salt blocks, and materials for new island buildings before returning to Charlevoix for a stated three- or four-month rest. The successful crossing is modeled separately as an event, not as a wreck or casualty.1
The local paper documents continued seasonal service in 1970, when the vessel was reduced to one trip per day at the end of summer. The held sources do not yet establish the vessel’s official number, later ownership, or final disposition. A May 1972 report adds a spring operational snapshot: ice delayed the first supply-trip return, an overheated engine required repairs, and the ferry went to the Soo for a five-year hull inspection.
Open questions
- What was the Beaver Islander’s official number, and which shipyard records document construction?
- How long did it remain in service and what became of it afterward?
- Can company records or Coast Guard inspection records verify the dimensions and capacity?
- Which records document the 1972 repair and hull-inspection findings?
Footnotes
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Charlevoix Courier, January 1, 1969, “Friday’s storm fails to halt final run for boat” and “Beaver Islander’s last trip.” ↩
Sources
- Beaver Beacon, March 1962, “Bigger, Better Boat for Beaver.”Reports the accepted $187,000 Sturgeon Bay Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Corporation bid, immediate construction, the name Beaver Islander, and a planned June 23 Charlevoix–Beaver run. Its comparison table gives 95 feet length, 27 feet beam, 100 gross tons, 150 passengers, and 12 large cars; this source-attributed length differs slightly from the 96.5-foot subject-card measurement.
- Beaver Beacon, May 1962, “Beaver Islander.”Reports construction progress to the main deck and arrival of the two main engines, with work continuing on schedule. It does not provide a builder inspection record, launch date, or final specifications.
- Beaver Beacon, April 1962, “Beaver Island Boat Company.”Corrects the March report’s 95-foot figure, saying the Beaver Islander is 96 feet 4 inches long. This source-specific correction is retained alongside the 96.5-foot subject-card measurement and the March comparison table.
- “Welcome, Beaver Islander!”, Beaver Beacon, August 1962.Contemporary report says the new ferry appeared in Saint James Harbor on 27 July 1962, began the Charlevoix–Beaver run, and was christened at Saint James on 5 August; it names Lawrence McDonough as captain.
- Helen Collar Papers, “Ships and Boats,” Clarke Historical Library, Central Michigan University, retrieved in the local web capture.Subject-card chronology identifies the Beaver Islander as a 96.5-foot ferry carrying 150 passengers and 12 cars, citing an August 1962 Beaver Islander item; the length is recorded in the vessel field as source-attributed rather than independently measured here, while the passenger and vehicle capacities remain in prose because they are not part of the current core vessel schema.web · collar_subject_cards_q-z
- Beaver Beacon, September 1970.Local report says the Beaver Islander had been reduced to one trip a day as the summer season ended, confirming continued service in 1970 without establishing its later disposition.
- Charlevoix Courier, January 1, 1969, “Friday’s storm fails to halt final run for boat” and “Beaver Islander’s last trip.”Reports the ferry’s 299th and final 1968-season trip, its winter supply cargo, the storm return to Charlevoix, and a three- or four-month winter rest; it does not establish a final vessel disposition.
- Charlevoix Courier, January 1, 1969, raw issue OCR.Held raw issue OCR preserves the transport report independently of the normalized Markdown rendering.
- Beaver Beacon, May 1972, “Hectic Season Start.”Reports the ferry’s April 20 first trip, ice-delayed return, April 26 water-cooling-pump failure and repairs, and May 14–19 Soo dry-dock period for a five-year hull inspection.
- Beaver Beacon, March 1972, “Spring” report.Anticipates the vessel’s departure for a five-year inspection in the Soo before the 1972 schedule; it is a pre-season plan rather than an inspection record.
- Beaver Beacon, April 1973, “First Boat.”Reports the Beaver Islander’s first 1973 trip on March 30 and says the regular schedule would begin April 16; it does not provide the captain, cargo, passenger count, or voyage log.
- Beaver Beacon, July 1973, “Emerald Isle Returns.”Reports a clutch breakdown and week-long repair interval that temporarily removed the Beaver Islander from service; it does not supply a repair record or later disposition.
- Beaver Beacon, May–June 1974, “School News.”Reports the entire school boarding the Beaver Islander at 7 a.m. on May 1 for the school field trips; it does not provide a passenger manifest or voyage log.